Here's a review of Tornado & Friends 2 for you guys:
1. Black Night Cadillac / Joe D. Toaster: (8+)
I won't complain right now about this showing up here for little reason when other Joe D. Toaster songs (Fun Go Fandango or Aphrodite) could've easily replaced it, so I'll just give it a normal review to look beyond that. This track features a pretty nice, unique melody, which is always appreciated in eurobeat, however drawbacks would be that the verse isn't really all that catchy, while the synths are fine but nothing to get excited over. A bold attempt at being more diverse, but it still doesn't stand out the way it should've.
2. Oh Oh Cowboy / Jeff Driller: (9)
Some nice, energetic material from Rimonti's most-used alias with great production all-around. The melody draws close influences to wild-western themes, which makes it even more unique and quite fun to listen to. Not the next big thing to ever happen to Hi-NRG Attack, but really catchy and surely worthy of its appearance on here.
3. Pistol Man / Garcon: (9+)
Festari's previous track wasn't the best he could pull off, but fortunately here we get some far stronger material. It doesn't stand on its own as a rather unique performance, but I can't really complain about that with all the powerful synths and hardcore vocals driving the song without losing speed. Very energetic and memorable, it was great back on SEB 153 and still sounds just as catchy as ever.
4. Gucci Girl / Cindy: (10+++)
I liked this song when I originally heard it on Euromach 1, but as a completed package it managed to blow me away more than I would've ever expected. Its true magnificence revealed to me just in time for me to love the extended version, and all I can say is that's it's just completely perfect in practically every way I can think. Usually, I don't think HRG's pitched up female vocals ultimately work out very well, but here I think they fit the song's cheery bubbliness more than anything, and yet still the singer provides some excellent tone and quality from her voice. The melodies are ingenious, the synths are very catchy and highly-produced, and the lyrics are just plain irresistable. All the basic ingredients of this track just fit together fantastically, and ultimately you're left with a perfect model female performance Hi-NRG Attack should definitely follow in the future to produce massive hits.
5. Hey Hey Velfarre / Bazooka Girl: (8½)
And here's the final missing piece of the puzzle to the "Velfarre trilogy" produced by Hi-NRG Attack sometime shortly after the conclusion of the Euromach series. Alice is definitely the one singing here and she puts off quite a show in many ways; it's just too bad the lyrics eventually lose originality, also the sparse usage of her vocals causes it to progress rather oddly. Still, very power-packed and fun to listen to, especially if you're a fan of Bazooka Girl.
6. Caballero With Sombrero / Baby Bazooka: (10-)
I already reviewed this, but honestly, I'd rather hear the original version in its entirety - I hate the Euromach cut because the final chorus is interfered by a few lines from the next track on the CD, California Girl by Mote Mote. And no, I don't want to listen to Motto-Motto Inamoto nearly as much as I want to listen to Caballero With Sombrero (the new, Japanese-based words just don't fit the song the way the original, Spanish ones did).
7. Suck-A-Bazooka (what on earth at the iTunes title censoring, seriously)
/ Franz "mad cow" Tornado and the Bazooka Girls: (10)
We've known this song for nearly a year now, and it's still definitely one of the more memorable performances Franz Tornado ever put out for fans. Whenever you see his name pop up, you can definitely expect quality if you enjoy his style. This track makes excellent progress and features one heck of a catchy chorus, as well as some energetic synths put into superb usage by Rimonti's gritty, powerful vocals. Fans of Hi-NRG Attack should definitely keep this deep into their collection.
8. Boom Boom Chocolate / Beat Man: (8+)
Tam Arrow pulls off a dose of his nice, typical style with this track. An all-around solid track with good lyrics and a good c-melody, if not the biggest standout on the compilation, either.
9. Bazooka Girl / Bazooka Girl: (9½)
Heh, this song's really a lot of fun to play. The first major thing that struck me about it was that the intro's structure was directly borrowed from the track's older cousin, Bazooka Man. Other than that, there aren't really any significant similarities between the two songs other than probably the choruses, but still we're promised with quality from start to finish. The c-melody is catchy and well-produced, the lyrics are a ton of fun (as usual in any Bazooka Girl track), and overall the package turns out quite nicely with all the right elements for a solid hit.
10. Blah Blah Ringo / Jungle Bill: (8½)
I already downloaded this from ParaparaMoo, Vol. 2, so I don't really see the point of putting it here as well. Having already listened to it several times, I can't exactly say it's the strongest performance Rimonti has ever done. To be honest though, I'm pretty torn about this track. The rather straightforward chorus and c-melody become addicting very quickly, making for a fun little track to play, but if you overexpose it, it just won't leave your head no matter what and begins to get on your nerves as it continues looping throughout your brain. A song that you can definitely have fun with, but just don't let it take over you or else.
11. Manga Super Robot / Babby One: (9+)
Hands down, Babby One is easily one of Tam Arrow's strongest Hi-NRG Attack aliases, and this example sure proves why that's so. Energetic sounds meet a strong approach to eurobeat with this fun-packed production. The c-melody and verse both keep the energy flowing excellently throughout the duration, and though it starts to slightly lose edge as it finally reaches the chorus, it's not enough to completely hurt a great track from the start. An excellent final track to yet another awesome Tornado & Friends compilation.
FINAL SCORE: 9
The first Tornado & Friends was one of the best compilations Hi-NRG Attack released themselves, and its sequel definitely isn't far behind. While some of the repeats here seemed a little unnecessary, the inclusion of the full versions of a few of the best productions Hi-NRG Attack ever put out, as well as some excellent new tracks as well still makes it a varied and rewarding compilation for HRG fans. Definitely worth picking up, even if you might just want to download a few of the tracks you don't already own.
KitsuneStar wrote:The original is already on iTunes.
No, not exactly. I suspect you're thinking of Motto-Motto Inamoto (Caballero Remix) from ParaparaMoo, Vol. 1 (alternately the non-iTunes SEB 159), which to me loses to its original counterpart for reasons already stated.
I mean these were great, but they have so much more unheard material, it just seems like a crime to include allready released SEB songs. Concidering that most of thier newer SEB material runs up to 4:18 mins, we could easily see one of those on the next extended volume 
I've never really tried reviewing HRG compilations ,because, well they are all great, But I'll take my stsnd out track and work my way from there. Be warned very HIGH grades ahead 
), but it is very cool that they are releasing singles at higher quality. Here is hoping for Mazinkaiser Superstar extended! That song is simply the best of Hi-Nrg Attack.
